Last Reviewed:August 5, 2022 by Gabrielle Marks
If you’re wondering how to remove semi-permanent hair color, the odds are you’ve just spent an hour in the bathroom standing in front of the mirror, staring at yourself, and trying not to cry. Remember, it could be worse. It could be a bad perm. Luckily, as long as you act quickly, there are some things you can do to alleviate the damage.
Semi-Permanent Hair Color Removal Requires Quick Action
It takes 48 to 72 hours for hair dye to permanently set in the hair’s cuticle. If you’re still in this window of opportunity, several solutions are available.
Consult a Professional
If a professional colorist performed the offending dye job, ask her to fix the damage for free. Most stylists are too concerned about their reputations to say no. If your wounds are self-inflicted, go to a stylist you trust, show her the box from the dye you used, and ask her what she recommends. While home dyes differ from salon dyes, most colorists know the home dye ingredients well enough to suggest something.
Hot Water Is Semi-Permanent Hair Color’s Enemy
You still have options if you created the mess and can’t consult a professional. The first thing to do is to call the consumer helpline listed on the dye box and see if they have any recommendations. If they don’t, you can start by rinsing your hair in hot water. Hot water lifts the outer cuticle layer causing the hair color to fade faster. This is why hair colorists advise washing color-treated hair in lukewarm water. Amazingly, being within the 72-hour window may cause the dye to fade significantly from your hair.
Washing repeatedly with a volume-enhancing shampoo will help to fade hair color more quickly. Most volumizing shampoos work by opening the hair’s cuticles, making it appear thicker. But with the cuticle open, it can cause damage to the hair, remove hair color, and reverse perms and relaxers.
Home Remedy Craze for Semi-Permanent Hair Color Removal
The new recipe for removing semi-permanent hair color that is crashing the internet is the vitamin C Head and Shoulders method. Several YouTube videos demonstrate how to crush vitamin C tablets and then mix them with Head and Shoulders Shampoo to form an oatmeal-like substance. This mixture is then applied to damp hair in the same manner in which you would color your hair. The head is then wrapped, and the mixture remains on the head for quite a long time. One highly successful application used 60 vitamin C tablets and left the mixture on for 50 minutes.
Unfortunately, with these types of demonstrations, there is no way of knowing the ramifications, if any.
Professional Products for Semi-Permanent Hair Color Removal
If none of these home remedies help, there are two products on the market that might. One ‘n Only’s Colorfix and Clairol’s The Uncolor System are both marketed as semi-permanent hair dye removers. Before you apply either product, make sure to strand test them on hair pulled or cut from the nape of your neck to make sure they don’t produce disastrous results. Don’t use either of these products if you used henna to dye your hair. Henna will fade fairly quickly, and trying to strip it from your hair with dye removers may lead to very unpredictable results.
